Madison Needs More Puppetry

This sounds pretty hoopy. It's a variety show called Odds N' Friends that is put on at Hungry Brain in Chicago. There's ventriloquism, video, and puppetry. The last show was a spoof of Total Recall.

Seen Monday night at Hungry Brain: a bare ass, a life-size Arnold Schwarzenegger puppet, and a video montage set to Drowning Pool's "Bodies" (in which "let the bodies hit the floor" loops endlessly). These elements were all part of Totally Recalled, a comedy show performed by Odds N’ Friends, the ever-changing collective of performance artists started by Aaron Maier, one of the founders of the website Everything Is Terrible!, and local puppeteer David Krofta.

Each month, the group picks a theme and performs on the first Monday at Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont Ave. Monday’s 100-minute show, a reinterpretation of the 1990 cult classic film Total Recall (the remake is in theaters now), was the group’s most ambitious yet—featuring 27 contributing artists and including 30 scenes of live music, dancing, puppetry, and stand-up.